Red Velvet Cake Balls

Holiday baking is a ton of fun, no matter what the reason.  I didn't actually plan on doing any of my own, but my favorite nephew had to make some treats for his school and I was more than happy to micromanage and help with the task.  I stalked all my favorite blogs and we decided on making Bakerella's Red Velvet Cake Balls.  **Please go to her beautiful website for the recipe and pictures.

Let's do the math people- it's cake, red velvet, chocolate, and balls.  This makes for a winning combination.  You just can't go wrong- plus you get to excessively say 'balls'.  

Benny was on board and his mom had already pre-baked the red velvet cake.  He started with working on his own creation- a chocolate cake.  While he did that, we worked on rolling the balls, and put them in the freezer to set.

Once the balls were ready, it was time to cover them in chocolate (we used candy melts) and then pass them on to the CEO of sprinkles.  The man takes his sprinkles seriously.

I take my chocolate coating seriously.

And our little goober Chino made sure that not a single bite landed on the floor.

As we were getting closer to being finished, we took a picture with our creations.

And the final product looked fabulous- if I do say so myself.  Benny's mom, who also took all the pictures, purchased these adorable containers in Mexico for his teachers.  Don't you just love them?

I had a great time working with my little nephew and his mom.  Looks like we started a tradition- look at our cookie making from last year.  I can't believe how things have changed this year.  He was so little and cuddly, and now he's such a little man!

2010:

What are you baking this year?

Double Chocolate Muffin-Cupcakes

The fabulous thing about not following a recipe or attempting to wing it when baking (mostly because you hate authority) is that you get to make up the title of the baked good yourself.  Pretty cool, huh?

My double chocolate muffin-cupcakes are not sweet enough to be cupcakes but a little too sweet to be a muffin.  I'm still considering making some frosting for these guys but they are relatively healthy now so I might only frost half.  And just eat the rest of the frosting some other time.

Ingredients:
*Please note this was my first time experimenting with a chocolate muffin/cupcake so the measurements below can be altered based on your preference

• 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want them)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 small package of apple sauce (6 oz or so)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/2 milk of choice
• Chocolate chips (to taste)

Instructions
-Mix ingredients 1-5 (dry) together and mix ingredients 6-8 (wet) together in separate bowls
-Add wet ingredient to dry and stir, adding more milk if the mixture is too dry
-Fold in chocolate chips
-Place in muffin tins and bake in a pre-heated oven for 22 minutes

Voila!

Impulsive

I am usually a planner- not quite Type A, but kind of like a Type A with a free spirit and a bad memory.  On Tuesday I saw Graze With Me's carrot cake and HAD to make it right right away.  I happened to have all the ingredients at home and made my first carrot cake.  I ate it for dinner on Tuesday.  And on Wednesday if we are being honest here.

 

I followed the recipe exactly except I used 1/2 of the oil and subbed 1/2 with applesauce.  I also didn't have any butter for the frosting and used agave instead of maple.  Seriously, go make this cake right now.

My Day in Numbers

I've seen a few numerically inclined blog ladies do a few fun numbers posts.  Here is my last 48 hours in numbers:

24: Roughly the number of hours I spent awake and working in the last 48 hours

6: The number of hotel food 'opportunities' I have had over the last 48 hours.  This halibut was really good.  The rest was alright.

21: The number of floors I had to ride to get to our meeting space over and over again in the high speed motion sickness machine (elevator). 

4: The number of hours of sleep I got last night
3: (but realistically 8) the number of pictures it took to try to get a decent shot of my work outfit to make sure it looked OK since I didn't plan it so well.  Apparently me and iPhone self-photos don't mesh.  And hello booty.

2: The number of buttons I broke on my keyboard at this meeting.  I'm a savage.

1: The number of recipes I will share with you tonight:

Vegan Wheat-Free Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Ingredients (cupcake batter):

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Flax eggs (~2 Tbsp ground flax to 6 Tbsp water)
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice mix
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup coconut milk

Ingredients (frosting):

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Tofutti cream cheese
• 1/4 cup honey
• Meyer lemon zest and juice (I used half of a lemon)
• Vanilla extract to taste

Instructions: I have to admit I winged this recipe and this makes a really dense muffin/cupcake.  This batch will make 20 mini cupcakes or about 8 regular cupcakes.  Instructions are very loose.

1. Combine all dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, shredded coconut, pumpkin spice)

2. Add in wet ingredients (flax egg, shredded carrots, vanilla extract, coconut milk, agave nectar) and mix until combined

3. Scoop batter into cupcake wrappers and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes

4. Make frosting by combining all ingredients and mixing for 1 minute (I mixed by hand)- set in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes

5. Frost cupcakes when cooled

6. Enjoy

Ciao Bellas ;)

How to Make Holiday Cookies

I haven't been doing too much holiday baking and I'm fresh out of holiday parties to attend.  Luckily today I had the chance to make and decorate some cookies.  I know a lot of people get overwhelmed with the holidays, so here is my easy process for making holiday cookies.  Put on your sweats, tie your hair up, and let's get baking!

1. Pick an assistant to help you out. You should check his resume for a list of skillz, but clean hands and a sweet Puma sweat suit are the core competencies for this task.

2. Make the recipe easy and work together- if boxed ingredients leave you more time to play, then do it.  I promise Martha won't come hunt you down every single time.

3. Get the prep work out of the way so you can play.  This is where a second assistant can help.

5. As much as you want to take over, relinquish control.  Little ones work better when they have the freedom.  But this does not give you an excuse to slouch on your posture. Seriously.

 6. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

7. Remember to eat real food on the days you bake to practice moderation and avoid sugar rushes.

8. Sit back and admire your hard work.

9. Make food fun.  Eating contests are good for the soul.

10. Remember to laugh and smile.  That's what the holidays are all about.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours :)

New Secret Ingredient

I have to tell you guys something I discovered- it's not really a new food or a new workout, but more of an old classic.  I haven't bought it in years and this past weekend it finally made its way on my grocery list for my Project Food Blog Entry.  Butter.  Let's say it again- BUTTER.  Somewhere in this whole healthy eating adventure, I decided butter was a no-go in our cart, each and every week.  Something about bad fats and other mumbo jumbo made me find all kinds of replacements for it in baked goods.  But you know what?  Butter makes delicious things like brownies.

 

All you do is combine it with this Trader Joe's Truffle Baking Mix, a couple of eggs, and water, and magic happens.

Half of the pan brownies are gone, and I am not even the responsible party. Sorry husband- you have been missing out for years.  I might have to go browse some Paula Deen cookbooks to make up for lost time.

Missing the Cleaning Gene

Hey Guys!  I have to say this was a fabulous Monday and there is a little bit of it left until I get to go to work again!  ((Insert happy face here))!
Thanks for the comments on the spring rolls in my last post.  They are seriously not at all difficult to make and so light and flavorful.  Make them now!

Today I got some cleaning done and straightened up our place after being gone for a week-it was no easy task!  I have to admit that I am pretty crappy at keeping our place clean.  I get a lot of help from the hubby and we share chores but work, school, and everything else really take the place of being Martha Stewart sometimes.  I think I might be missing that wife gene.  Speaking of which, I've been an old married lady for 7 months today!

(One of the blooper pictures because believe me, there were LOTS!  Hubby found a toy and I was not happy)
At least I cook and bake. The highlights of my day included baking brownies:

Marshmallow and white chocolate:

Green sprinkles for my favorite nephew:

Some coffee, cashew, and walnut brownies for my hubby:

One of my favorite things about baking is giving the treats away.  I can't be left alone with sweet treats at all!

In addition to baking and being a wifey, I went to the gym to get my workout on since I swear just smelling the treats added a few extra cals.
The spin class I wanted to take was filled up so I did my own workout and even did my own spin class:

• 20 minutes intervals on the deathmill (stairmill)
• 25 minute spin class
• Stay between 90 and 100 RPMs, alternating levels and doing the 'high' portion at the chorus of each song, approximately 30 seconds of crazy fast and then going back to just normal fast.

• Yoga/balance stretching for 20 minutes

I felt wonderful after and remembered how much I love working out- as bad as it feels when I'm doing the death-machines, I feel like a rockstar after every.single.time.

After my workout I broke into my spring roll leftovers with some dipping sauce and carrot dippers:

I also had an apple with Laughing Cow Light Cheese and almonds:

It was a really filling and flavorful meal, albeit a bit eclectic, but that's how I roll!
I'm off to shower and get ready for my exciting day tomorrow!  Hope your Tuesday is fabulous :)
  
Questions: Do you like to clean?  How do you make yourself clean if you don't like to?
I hate cleaning but music, commercials, and incentives help!

Vitamin D

I'm usually glad when Mondays are over, but I've got a few tears about today being over!  It's been such a great day.  East Coast Divas, please cover your eyes- it was 72 degrees here today.  I think all the Vitamin D made me happy!

Family Food Bloggers
I started off by meeting with my mom and shopping my little heart out.  I hit up Macy's and Forever 21.  I'm no longer 21, but I refuse to shop in the adult stores.  Not yet...besides, since my birthday is coming up, I'm trying to embrace my youth!  We also hit up Sam's Club and Trader Joe's.  My mom is turning into a blogger in training- we got her some almond butter and I shared my goji berries and chia seeds with her.  If I catch her taking pictures of her food, I'm in trouble.  On my other side of the family, I'm already getting emails about what kinds of fish to eat and have fully converted them into my almond butter cult :)


My dad, however has always been a blogger, minus the photography.  My dad has been drinking Noni juice for the last 5 years or so.  He's also a machine and runs 3 miles almost daily, lifts weights, and swims...all on top of his physically demanding job.  I sampled some of his superfood juice today:

The juice was on the right- I poured it in the shot glass so I could get a good measurement.  Plus, it was the middle of the day, and I have standards people!

I came home to unload my loot:

• Organic apples, organic spinach, cage free organic eggs, raw almonds, laughing cow cheese, brown cow greek yogurt, and bananas

Sam's Club has come a long way.  I think that as long as the company is making organic, healthy foods available for a good price to the public, it's enough for me to put my occasional cash money there.

I cooked up a good meal for my working hubby and after that I went to the gym to do apparently nothing:

I guess I did about 2 miles in 23 minutes- a quick, easy run to get my legs loose after yesterday!

When I came home it was still sunny and beautiful (I'll stop bragging soon) so we took dinner outside.

We had roasted veggies:

Some organic chicken and broccoli for the Mister:

The star of the show was the Peanut Sauce- heavily adapted from Miss Avery:
1/4 cup PB
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tbsp Maple/Agave Blend Syrup (from TJ's)
Glug of soy sauce
Tabasco, black pepper, chili powder
1 Tbsp water to thin it out
~1 clove crushed garlic

Thank you Avery- you are a genius!

My husband, who loves veggies as it is, was finding excuses to dip stuff in the peanut sauce and cleaned out the rest of it- definite success! I made more right after dinner too!


My plate:

• Roasted veggies, GIANT beans from TJ's, brown rice, and broccoli wth peanut sauce

We didn't forget about dessert.  My compulsive baking forced me to make Espresso Brownies:

Here is my super easy recipe:
Hubby's Espresso Brownies:

• 1/2 package of brownie mix of choice (I used Ghirardelli because they are from San Francisco and AWESOME)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee or 2-3 shots of espresso
• Top with almonds or pecans
• Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes (or while eating peanut sauce with a spoon)

I like to serve my chocolate with more chocolate:

Here is my date digging into his stash:

And this is what I do when people try to take my picture:

No idea either, but it adds to my character and it's good to put embarassing pictures of myself on the internets.

Something to do...
I'm so glad, excited, overwhelmed, and pleased that now more than my hubby and mom read my blog!  I am, however, trying to update my blogroll and want to capture all of your blog updates.  Can you please leave your url for me so that I can add you all and properly stalk you?  Thanks in advance!

How are you doing in introducing people to your food and fitness lifestyle?